Giuseppe Rossi is back in training after suffering an awful couple of knee injuries which have kept him out of the game since October 2011. The summer before he suffered the first one, he was linked with moves to some of the world's biggest clubs and easily regarded as one of Europe's best strikers. Villarreal was considered to be too small a club to keep him but he was happy there and his goals were firing the club up La Liga.

In the 2010/11 season the club finished fourth in La Liga and got to the Europa League semi-final. They then sold players like Cazorla and Capdevila and with injury to Rossi they struggled, ending the season relegated from the top flight. The personal and team setbacks must have been huge for Rossi to take. In May 2011, his agent had told Goal.com they were in negotiations for a Barcelona move and that seemed to make sense at the time, he was that highly rated.

Rossi was a favourite among Manchester United supporters whilst he was at the club and still looks back on his time there fondly. He's told today's Gazzetta dello Sport that the people there had a big influence on him "Giggs and Scholes are strong people. In training, they care for details in an obsessive way. And then Ferguson. Off the pitch he treats you like a family member. He tells you things to your face, even hard-nosed, but everyone respects him and follows him, because he makes you win."

When asked why he left Manchester United he said that Carlos Queiroz, who took the training, didn't see enough in him and that Ferguson was clear with him after signing new players in 2007 "When Nani and Anderson arrived, Ferguson was very honest: 'You will not find the opportunities that you want'"

The addition of two young players who were expected to go into the first team made life more difficult for Rossi, and he'd already been out on loan at Newcastle United and Parma. Even though neither played in his position, their arrival looks to have signalled Rossi's departure.

The New Jersey born and bred Italian international is now at Fiorentina hoping to rebuild his career, he's still only 26 and has plenty of time to do so.

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